Juan Pablo Ocegueda: The United States is my country

Owner of both a United States and Mexico passport, United States U-20 defender Juan Pablo Ocegueda insists that he's loyal to the Stars and Stripes.

"The United States is my country, it is my home. It opened its doors to my family, offered it a better life and gave me the chance to play for them. It is an honor to do so," Ocegueda told Goal.com prior to the United States losing 3-1 in extra time to Mexico in the U-20 CONCACAF championship match.

Ocegueda was born in Riverside, California but plays his club ball with Tigres UANL. The young center back revealed that he did receive an call up by Mexico's U-17 and U-20 teams but was adamant that he is only considering playing for the U.S..

"Mexico called me up before this process [towards the World Cup] started, but I obviously said no because I am committed to the United States,"Ocegueda said. "I was called up a few times actually, to the U-17 and U-20 squads. I thank them for considering me, but I had made my mind up."

In fact, Ocegueda stated that under no circumstance would he consider playing for El Tri.